Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has sparked a political firestorm by releasing newly declassified documents alleging that senior officials in the Obama administration “manufactured and politicized” intelligence to fuel the Trump–Russia investigation in 2016. But despite the gravity of her claims, most major news networks have offered minimal or dismissive coverage.
Speaking last week, Gabbard said the documents offer “overwhelming evidence” that President Obama and his top national security officials worked to construct a narrative of Russian interference to undermine Donald Trump after his victory over Hillary Clinton.
Yet a review of major broadcast transcripts revealed that ABC and NBC had made no mention of the revelations through Sunday. CBS touched on the story briefly during its “Face the Nation” broadcast, where anchor Margaret Brennan asked Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) whether the claims had legal merit. Himes dismissed the report as a “dangerous lie,” saying “there is not a judge in the land that will treat this with anything other than laughter.”
Conservative media watchdogs and analysts expressed frustration that such a significant claim was covered only sparingly. “It wasn’t even a full segment,” noted NewsBusters’ Jorge Bonilla. “CBS brought on a senior Democrat to downplay it — not Gabbard herself or any critical voices.”
The declassified documents, released by Gabbard’s office Friday, include internal assessments from 2016 stating that Russia likely did not intend to interfere in the election using cyber means or to influence the outcome — a finding inconsistent with later narratives pushed publicly by U.S. intelligence. Gabbard argues this shift was politically motivated, aimed at discrediting Trump after his unexpected win.
CNN mentioned Gabbard’s report twice: briefly on Saturday, and again Monday during “The Lead with Jake Tapper,” when Rep. Jason Crow (D-Colo.) accused Gabbard of releasing the documents to curry favor with Trump and distract from other political stories, including the renewed focus on the Jeffrey Epstein case.
MSNBC’s Ayman Mohyeldin dismissed the report as a “baseless distraction,” echoing Democratic claims that Republicans are attempting to change the subject away from other damaging headlines.
Former Obama officials also weighed in. John Brennan, former CIA director and current MSNBC contributor, told Nicolle Wallace the report was “ludicrous” and “dangerous,” adding that it “misrepresents what the intelligence community did” in 2016.
Meanwhile, The New York Times and Washington Post only mentioned Gabbard’s disclosures in passing. The Times ran a headline acknowledging her claims but focused on Democratic criticism, quoting Rep. Himes and Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.), who accused Gabbard of pushing a politically motivated theory at odds with past reviews. The Post waited until Monday evening to reference the documents, buried in a broader piece about Trump’s political strategy.
Gabbard’s report names former intelligence officials John Brennan, James Clapper, James Comey, and Susan Rice — along with then-President Obama — as key figures in what she called a “treasonous conspiracy” against Trump. Brennan and Clapper now serve as analysts on MSNBC and CNN, respectively.
Speaking with Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, Gabbard argued:
“This manufactured narrative that Russia helped elect Trump was directly contradicted by earlier intelligence reports. What the Obama administration did was subvert the will of the American people and engineer a years-long effort to delegitimize President Trump.”
Despite the bold claims and released documents, most legacy media outlets have avoided in-depth reporting, sparking renewed questions about media bias and selective coverage of stories that reflect poorly on Democratic leadership.
